Follow This Man’s Example if You Want to See
In John chapter nine, Jesus was traveling through a town. He encountered a man who had been blind since his birth. Jesus went over to the man. The blind man had heard that this healer was in town, a man who could perform miracles, and he was so excited. Out of all the people in the city now Jesus is standing before him. No doubt someone had told him how Jesus touched another blind man's eyes and made him see; or how Jesus had spoke and a little girl was healed. He probably heard how Jesus prayed for a leper and he was cleansed, or even that He commanded a dead man to come back to life. There were many different methods Jesus used to heal people. I can imagine this blind man was expecting Jesus to do something like He had done before.
As Jesus stood before the blind man, I can imagine you could hear a pin drop. Perfectly quiet yet filled with great anticipation. The blind man is probably waiting to hear Jesus speak a word of healing; but instead, all he hears is Jesus spitting on the ground. Imagine what was going on in his mind. "I thought He was going to pray for me. I thought He was going to touch my eyes. Why is He spitting?"
Jesus made mud out of dirt and his spittle and He placed it on the man's eyes. Jesus was unconventional. There was no precedent for this ever happening before in the Scripture. Elijah never did it, Elisha, or Moses. This was the first instance this method had ever been used. The blind man could have said, "Get this off of my eyes. This doesn't make sense. This isn't going to do any good." But he didn't. He didn't have God in a box. He stayed open. Then, Jesus instructed him to wash it off. When he did, he could see perfectly clear for the first time.
My question today is: are you open for God to use a new method to bring your dreams to pass? What if God answers your prayers differently than you were expecting? What if He doesn't use the people that you thought He would use? Are you going to follow this blind man's example and stay open and say, "God, I trust You. Do it Your way," or are you going to have God in a box and miss your miracle?
What's interesting is Jesus did all this on the Sabbath. He not only used an unconventional method but He broke one of their religious rules. The Pharisees, the religious leaders were very upset. When they heard what had happened they had the blind man brought before them and they questioned him again and again.
They said, "Tell us what happened. Don't you know this man, Jesus, is a sinner?" The healed man said, "I don't understand all the doctrine, all your religious laws. I don't even know much about Jesus. All I can tell you is I was blind but now I can see."
Friend, it's hard to argue with a changed life. It's hard for people to argue when they see you blessed and happy and healthy and restored, forgiven, redeemed. Stay open to God, let Him do things His way, follow the example of the blind man and let God heal and restore every area of your life!
As Jesus stood before the blind man, I can imagine you could hear a pin drop. Perfectly quiet yet filled with great anticipation. The blind man is probably waiting to hear Jesus speak a word of healing; but instead, all he hears is Jesus spitting on the ground. Imagine what was going on in his mind. "I thought He was going to pray for me. I thought He was going to touch my eyes. Why is He spitting?"
Jesus made mud out of dirt and his spittle and He placed it on the man's eyes. Jesus was unconventional. There was no precedent for this ever happening before in the Scripture. Elijah never did it, Elisha, or Moses. This was the first instance this method had ever been used. The blind man could have said, "Get this off of my eyes. This doesn't make sense. This isn't going to do any good." But he didn't. He didn't have God in a box. He stayed open. Then, Jesus instructed him to wash it off. When he did, he could see perfectly clear for the first time.
My question today is: are you open for God to use a new method to bring your dreams to pass? What if God answers your prayers differently than you were expecting? What if He doesn't use the people that you thought He would use? Are you going to follow this blind man's example and stay open and say, "God, I trust You. Do it Your way," or are you going to have God in a box and miss your miracle?
What's interesting is Jesus did all this on the Sabbath. He not only used an unconventional method but He broke one of their religious rules. The Pharisees, the religious leaders were very upset. When they heard what had happened they had the blind man brought before them and they questioned him again and again.
They said, "Tell us what happened. Don't you know this man, Jesus, is a sinner?" The healed man said, "I don't understand all the doctrine, all your religious laws. I don't even know much about Jesus. All I can tell you is I was blind but now I can see."
Friend, it's hard to argue with a changed life. It's hard for people to argue when they see you blessed and happy and healthy and restored, forgiven, redeemed. Stay open to God, let Him do things His way, follow the example of the blind man and let God heal and restore every area of your life!